rahul dravid

The Indian cricket team arrived in Sri Lanka to play a three nation limited-over series, after completing what is called a â€œtop secretâ€ military training session. According to some photographs published in a Sri Lankan daily, the session looks like a full fledged military drill with cricketers seen in camouflage and military dress. The Indian batting order is also boosted by the return of the little master, SachinTendulkar .

Last time when the Asian rivals met, India thrashed the Lankans 6-1. When asked about Indiaâ€™s psychological advantage over the Lankans, Rahul Dravid replied, â€œ I donâ€™t believe in such things as psychological advantage. The 6-1 win was a long time ago and lot of water has gone under the bridgeâ€.

â€œSri Lanka have played well recently and the series in England has given them confidence. They have the momentum going and they are specially formidable at homeâ€, he added. Commenting on South Africa he said, â€œSouth Africa are ranked number two in the world. They have some explosive players and in the last two years, if you look at their records, they have been second only to Australia. They even successfully chased a target of 434â€.

Cricket: Team India to start World Cup against Bangladesh

Rahul Dravid’s Team India will start their Group-B World Cup 2007 campaign in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, against Bangladesh on March 17. This will be followed by their second match of the tournament against minnows Bermuda on March 19. Team India will then face Sri Lanka in their last group encounter on March 23.

The Indian team is scheduled to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago on March 2. They play their first warm-up game against the Netherlands on March 6 and another against West Indies on March 9. Next they travel to Montego Bay in Jamaica for the opening ceremony on March 11.

World Cup 2007 will see its first match between the host nation West Indies and Pakistan on March 13. The mega event will witness 16 teams fighting for cricketing glory. The group matches over, the second stage Super Eight series will start on March 27 and the matches will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana and Barbados.

Sourav Ganguly is not susceptible to genuine pace

Dismissing the theory as Ã¢â‚¬Å“myth’’, Sourav Ganguly said that his handling of Shoaib Akhtar during the Karachi Test against Pakistan should prove that he was not susceptible to genuine pace and it should stand him in good stead for India’s future matches. A confident Sourav beamed, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes, I am definitely keen to get back to colored clothing. With all the runs behind me in one-day cricket, I’m looking forward to playing the World Cup as well.’’

The former Indian captain, dropped from the one-day squad against Pakistan, said it had been quite disappointing to lose the Karachi Test and not being able to convert his start into a big score. “Disappointment” is the only word Ganguly found fitting, Ã¢â‚¬Å“It is disappointing. We were in a great position on day one. Before lunch, they were at 39 for 6 and to lose a Test match from there, obviously it is very disappointing. I played well in both the innings. But a big score was required at that stage, which did not happen. It is a disappointment. But at least you know you are playing well.’’

What happened in the dressing room ? Sourav Ganguly, dismissed talks of being isolated in the dressing room, saying he had good time during the Test series “These are mere speculations. I had a good time in the dressing room. All the boys have played under me, so there is no problem. Yes, these things are there. I give my suggestions. And there are times when Rahul has carried out those,” Sourav confirmed. Certainly Former captain Sourav Ganguly has no communication problem with IndiaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s present cricket captain Rahul Dravid.

Indian Cricket is 3rd in ICC Ranking

India has moved down to 3rd position from its 2nd position in the LG ICC Test Championship ranking , a consequence to the Pakistan’s series win over India, while Pakistan stay in the fourth place Australia is in the first position followed by England in the second position. In ICC One-Day International Championship Ranking India is in 5th posision. Mighty Australia is in first position here also, followed by South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand.

The individual rankings of India’s batsmen is given below: Latest Published Ratings:1st February 2006 (After Karachi Test Match)

* Rahul Dravid is in position 6 (-2) with 825 points Rahulâ€™s career best is 892 points vs Pakistan, Kolkata 2005

* Virender Sehwag is in position 9 (-2) with 777 points Virender Sehwagâ€™s career best is 854 points vs South Africa, Kolkata 2004

* Sachin Tendulkar is in position 12 (-1) with 705 points Sachin Tendulkarâ€™s career best is 898 points vs Zimbabwe, Nagpur 2002

* Venkata Laxman is in position 23 (-2) with 635 points Venkata Laxmanâ€™s career best is 753 points vs Australia, Sydney 2004

* Sourav Ganguly is in position 40 with 533 points Sourav Gangulyâ€™s career best is 713 points vs Australia Adelaide 1999

* Yuvraj Singh is in position 44 (+23) with 505 points This is Yuvraj Singhâ€™s career best and he is sharing the 44th position with Salman Butt of Pakistan

The individual rankings of India’s bowler is given below :

# Anil Kumble is in position 11 with 705 points Anil Kumbleâ€™s career best is 859 points vs Sri Lanka, Bangalore 1994

# Irfan Pathan is in position 12 (+3) with 699 points Irfan Pathanâ€™s career best is 761 points vs Sri Lanka, Delhi 2005

# Harbhajan Singh in position 18 (-1) with 605 points Harbhajan Singhâ€™s career best is 765 points vs New Zealand, Wellington 2002